The state increased its per-pupil funding in the current fiscal year by $16, the study notes, but that increase "was far from enough to offset the state's $1,144 per-pupil cut over the previous six years."

When it comes to dollars spent per student, Alabama is spending $1,128 less per student in fiscal year 2015 than it was in 2008 - that's the largest deficit in per-student spending in the nation, according to CBPP.

The Alabama-based Arise Citizens Policy Project - which bills itself as "a nonprofit coalition of 150 congregations and organizations that promote public policies to improve the lives of low-income Alabamians" - argues that these substantial cuts to education funding impacts Alabama's economy now and in the future.

According to the CBPP, K-12 funding in most states leans heavily on the state's coffers. "On average, some 46 percent of total education expenditures in the United States come from state funds; the share varies by state," the study says. Other funding comes from federal and local sources.